Vice President JD Vance was campaigning in Cincinnati, Ohio on Wednesday and was asked to comment on GOP gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad against his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton.
[NOTE: The controversial ad features Acton’s estranged mother calling her daughter a liar. Her mother stayed married to the man whom Acton had accused of sexual abuse when she was a child. Ohio Capital Journal reported that when Acton’s stepfather was charged, he fled the state, and remained a fugitive until his death in 2004.]
Vance responded by telling Republicans to “stop whining about an advertisement,” and suggested that they “go win the race in 13 days.”
When asked if he thought the ad was appropriate, Vance said it “is not really my concern,” and added that he was “a little bit disgusted” by Republicans complaining about it.
Vance on Ramaswamy ad: My message to my fellow elected Republicans: stop whining about an ad https://t.co/urMP9s2sBr
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 21, 2026
Later at a different rally, in Sharonville, Ohio, Vance brought it up on his own. The Vice President said that Ramaswamy “had the audacity to run a TV commercial” that “calls Amy Acton a liar.” A person more worried about whether someone says something mean about them, Vance said, “could never serve in the governor’s mansion.”
Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) had been on stage with Vance and Ramaswamy in Cincinnati. Afterward, he gave the Associated Press a statement: “I would not have run that ad.”
[NOTE: Husted is in a tight race for re-election against former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who called the ad “disgusting” and said “everyone, including Jon Husted, should be willing to condemn this ad.”]
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose told a Columbus TV station he “probably wouldn’t run an ad like that.” Lydia Mihalik, a Republican who serves in Gov. Mike DeWine’s Cabinet, wrote that “exploiting someone’s childhood trauma is wrong.” Nikki Haley, Ramaswamy’s 2024 presidential rival, called him “a bad guy” on X. “It’s a shame he continues to get away with it,” she wrote.
“I would not have run that ad,” Republican Sen. Jon Husted said in a statement to The Associated Press. https://t.co/R0eqi9KDX9 #OHSEN
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) October 21, 2026
President Trump, asked about it on Wednesday, kept his distance. “I know nothing about it,” he told reporters. “It’s a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much.” He said the mother “went very rogue on the daughter.” His conclusion: “So who knows?”
Ramaswamy confirmed that his campaign is behind the ad, and said Acton has been spreading “disparaging lies about me and my family that does deserve to be scrutinized.” Acton’s campaign responded with a video featuring her brother, Philip Stearns, who recounted their childhood abuse and said “Ramaswamy is not fit to lead.”
Vivek Ramaswamy is not fit to lead. Watch our new ad. https://t.co/EhWNMdFjjH
— Dr. Amy Acton (@amyactonoh) October 20, 2026
NOTE: The Columbus Dispatch endorsed Acton on Wednesday, saying “sexual violence against children should not be politicized.”